Semtech Corporation (Nasdaq: SMTC), a supplier of high performance analog and mixed-signal semiconductors and advanced algorithms, announced that Meshed Pty Ltd (Meshed IoT Integrators), Australia’s premier provider of Internet of Things (IoT) solutions for smart cities, environment, water, energy, agriculture, and asset management, has integrated the LoRaWAN® protocol into its nCounter people counting solution to provide accurate and anonymized people counting data for smart cities amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Integrating the LoRaWAN protocol capabilities into our nCounter solutions allowed Meshed to significantly transform the management efficiency, range and effectiveness of the platform, as well as increase the safety of monitored cities,” said Andrew Maggio, Director of Technology and Operations at Meshed.
With the development of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, cities consistently seek smarter applications to improve public health and safety. Meshed’s nCounter is a cost-effective IoT solution based on the LoRaWAN protocol and monitors population in a given space. The Wi-Fi device collects anonymous metrics on the number of smartphones in a given area and transmits this data over LoRaWAN networks, provided by The Things Network, in real time. This data, viewable on Meshed’s configurable IoT platform, increases city safety by enabling managers to monitor activity at hotspots such as shopping malls, parks and gardens, public facilities, and major events. As a result, city managers and public health officials efficiently monitor population activity, as well as gain an insight into the success of social distancing and other public health guidelines based on local compliance with these regulations.
“Real-time data on population movement provided by our application leveraging the LoRaWAN protocol enables city governments to assess the immediate and ongoing effects of the pandemic on local businesses, the effectiveness of social distancing regulations and simplifies the recovery process for affected communities,” said Catherine Caruana-McManus, Director of Sales and Strategy for Meshed.
In addition, Meshed, in partnership with the SMART Infrastructure Facility at the University of Wollongong (UOW), recently utilized the nCounter platform to research the pandemic’s economic and social impacts and published the findings in the new COVID-19 Pedestrian Index Research Report. Meshed and UOW collaborated with 24 municipal Governments across Australia to collect data from over 90 nCounter devices deployed across metropolitan and major regional city centers, tourism and pedestrian hotspots. The project leveraged the data from the connected IoT solutions to measure the loss of pedestrian activity in cities as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This provided researchers insight into the mobility, economic and social impacts of the pandemic on local communities and allowed the creation of a plan to foster continued public safety and economic success.
“The LoRaWAN protocol’s long range connectivity enables flexible devices, such as those in dense cities, and Meshed’s nCounter IoT platform serves as an example of how these functionalities extend to help communities manage COVID-19,” said Marc Pegulu, Vice President of IoT Product Marketing for Semtech’s Wireless and Sensing Products Group. “IoT solutions and Semtech’s LoRa® devices continue to play a leading role in supporting effective public health practices amid the pandemic and allow municipal leaders to measure the safety of their community during this difficult time.”